


Bees are attracted to sunflowers

by nelliespector (ilmv)



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Animal AU, Castiel is a Bee, Gen, Plant AU, Sad Ending, bee!cas, crowley is a crow, i'm sorry i made a cute story sad, i'm verklempt, sam is a sunflower, sunflower!sam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-30
Updated: 2016-05-30
Packaged: 2018-07-11 04:50:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7029307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ilmv/pseuds/nelliespector
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A sunflower and a bee become friends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bees are attracted to sunflowers

Sam's body swayed in the gentle breeze. Sam was beautiful, more beautiful than any of the many siblings who resided in the field. His petals were long and flowed in the wind. His stalk was strong, green and leafy. Head to lifted the sky, Sam was soaking in the sun rays that gave all flowers strength and helped them keep growing taller and stronger. Sam felt heavy and knew it was because his pistils were heavy with pollen. Bees would be coming soon, Sam thought, to take this dusty burden away. Sam didn't know what the bees actually did with the pollen, but figured it wasn't his concern. He was just glad when they came to gather it. As soon as the thought had left him, sure enough a busy little bee buzzed over to him.

"Hello, Sam," the bee said to him. The little bee's voice was deeper and more gruff than he expected from a bee.

"Hello. I don't think we've met. How do you know my name?" Sam asked, perplexed by the bee's apparent familiarity with him.

"I'm Worker #C45GX232B, but I prefer Castiel. You can call me Cas, for short. All the bees know about you, Sam," the bee said, somewhat ominously. Sam had seen many different kinds of bees throughout his life in the flower field, but never did he see one wearing a tiny blue necktie. "They say you're the flower with special pollen," the bee said, landing gently on Sam's pollen covered face.

Sam squished his face up, unsure what to make of his celebrity status among the bees. Sam had suspected there was something different about him. He was taller and stronger than all the other flowers in the field. Most of his flower siblings ignored him, he suspected it was out of jealousy. Sam didn't think he was better than any of the other flowers. Being bigger and stronger than the other flowers, Sam didn't think it made him special. It felt more like a curse. All Sam ever wanted was to be a normal flower like everyone else.

"Is it alright if I take some of your pollen, Sam?" Cas asked him. Sam nodded his head. He would be glad to get rid of the yellow dust weighing him down. The bee licked it's legs and soon enough the fuzzy little legs attracted the yellow particles, making Castiel's little bee thighs look two times larger as he packed the pollen onto them. His thighs looked like little baskets full of pollen. Cas tried to stick as much of the pollen to his fuzzy body as he could. Soon enough all of Cas' fuzz was covered with yellow particles.

"Uh, dude you're covered in my pollen," Sam laughed, feeling somewhat lighter. "It looks pretty funny on you!"

"Sam, as far as flowers go I like you but this is a serious matter. I have orders from the queen. The colony and the queen needs this pollen," the bee said, squinting at him. "and Naomi is not one to trifle with."

Sam stopped laughing, not wanting to upset the little bee. Sam had so few visitors in the flower field, and his siblings weren't as talkative as he was. It was nice when the bees came by to have a chat. Bees were more friendly than some of the other creatures he encountered, like the birds who came by to peck away at his face and steal his seeds. This little bee was strange, though. This bee seemed to be.. a boy bee?

"Um, I don't want to offend you or anything Castiel," Sam started. "But.. aren't most worker bees female? You have a pretty deep voice for a female.. and a lot of stubble on your face."

Castiel sighed. "The queen did not wish to mate with me, so she gave me this job instead," he answered, still trying to get more of Sam's pollen to stick to his fuzzy little body. Even his blue necktie was covered in yellow dust now. "After that, my colony voted to reject obsolete gender roles and institute a constitutional monarchy," the bee answered with a buzz. "We're the first colony ever to do so."

"That sounds pretty nice, actually. Flowers don't really have a leader, we just follow the sun. I've never understood bees with your rigid roles. Why do workers have to be female? Why do the drones have to be male? Why only one queen bee? I don't get it. But I have male parts and female parts, after all," Sam said, refering to his stamen and pistils.

"Interesting. I did not realize that. Sam, which pronouns do you prefer? I don't wish to upset you," Castiel said.

"I've never really thought about it. Everyone just calls me Sam. That's a boy's name, I think. Sometimes it's a girl's name, too. I guess I feel more like a boy most of the time," Sam said, shrugging his leaves. "My siblings, when they talk to me, call me brother."

All of Castiel's buzzing and the deep discussion they were having must have drawn attention, because out of nowhere a big black crow swooped in to peck at the seeds on Sam's face.

"Hey!" Sam shouted. "Stop that! It hurts!" Castiel buzzed loudly around the crow, trying to frighten it away.

"Oh please. I'm not scared of you, drone. You've got no stinger," the crow said in his deep, purring voice, slapping Castiel away with his wing. Cas went upside down, losing his balance for a minute. The crow gave a sinister smile. "Looks like my wings beat yours, bumbler."

"Hey! Don't do that! He's my friend!" Sam shouted. Cas felt dizzy but shook it off, hovering near and never leaving Sam's side.

"How precious. A flower in love with a bee. Amusing, really," the crow said, mocking them. Sam crossed his leaves over his stem while Cas glared at him. "You know who I am, right? Crowley's the name. Crowley, king of the crows. Normally I would just take your seeds but I'm feeling generous. This little love story has touched me in a special place. Tell you what, Romeo: I'll give you a deal. I'll bring you anything you want, anything that I and a murder of my buddies can bring to you, and in exchange you give me some seeds. Deal?"

"I'm a flower. I only need the sun. What do you have that I could possibly want?" Sam asked, anger and disbelief in his voice. Cas flew next to Sam, keeping his eyes on the crow.

"Oh, I don't know.. how about freedom?" Crowley said. "How about a flower pot? You can get out of here, get away from these dull flowers who don't even want to speak to you. You could have a garden of your own where you are the star attraction. You could be king of the flowers, Sam, the way I'm king of the crows."

Sam thought about Crowley's offer. It might be nice to get out of the flower field and away from his family, to set out on his own. If he could move to a flower pot and into someone's garden, maybe he'd be appreciated more.

"Sam, I hope you're not considering this," Cas warned. "Crows cannot be trusted." Cas squinted at Crowley, who merely rolled his black eyes at the little bee.

"Neither can bees," Crowley said. "He just wants you to stay here so he can gather your pollen for his queen. Bees are no better than crows, they just think they are."

"Cas asked for my pollen. You flew in and started pecking my face!" Sam said, pointing his leaf in Crowley's face. "I'll never make a deal with you, ever."

"Too bad," Crowley said. "You could've had it all, Sam the sunflower. Well, you know where my nest is if you change your mind. Just send your buzzy little busybody boyfriend to me." With that Crowley flew away, back toward the gnarled, dead, grey tree he called home.

"He's not my boyfriend!" Sam called after him. Crowley just laughed a squaking laugh that echoed through the field, scattering the other birds in his wake.

Cas looked hurt. "Sam. What he said... it's not true. I don't only care about your pollen. Your pollen is important, but I also like talking with you."

"Hey, don't feel bad," Sam said, noticing the hurt look on the little bee's face. "I like talking with you, too. Come here, man," he said, smiling at the little bee. He held out his leaves, beckoning Cas for a hug.

"What does this mean?" Cas asked, copying Sam's movements and tilting his head in confusion.

"Come let me give you a hug," Sam laughed.

"Sam, bees don't hug each other. We're not very.. affectionate." Cas said, confused by the flower.

"But you're so cute and fuzzy! You should be hugged," Sam said, blushing.

Cas had never hugged anyone before, but he had seen humans do it. He opened his front arms and wrapped them around Sam's stalk, and Sam responded by cradling his little body with his leaves, careful not to hurt his delicate wings. It was strange, but it felt kind of nice. The other flowers saw them and scoffed, some started whispering about the strange sight. Sam and Cas paid them no mind.

"Cute? Do you really think I'm cute?" Cas said, breaking the hug to once again hover near Sam. He looked down at himself then up at Sam, not quite believing such a beautiful flower would find a boring little drone bee like himself to be cute.

"Yeah you're cute! Look at you," Sam said, holding a raindrop in his leaf so that Cas could see his own reflection. "You're fuzzy and all covered in dust. And your blue tie matches your eyes. I've never seen a cuter bee. The queen doesn't know what she's missing."

Cas smiled at his reflection. "Perhaps it's for the best that the queen doesn't wish to mate with me," he said. "Drones are quite unlucky in that regard."

Sam looked at him curiously, unsure of what he was talking about. Bees were a strange mystery to flowers.

"It's gruesome and I'll spare you the details, Sam," Cas said, shaking his head and cringing at something. "It just means I'll live a lot longer. It means I can come visit you more often."

"I'd like that," Sam said. "I don't get a lot of nice visitors around here, you know. It's mostly just crows who steal my seeds, flies who just buzz around, ladybugs who chew on my leaves. Bees are the only ones who make an effort. I'd like to stay here. Promise you'll visit me?"

"Yes," Cas said. "I'd like that."

So it went in the sunny months. Cas would visit many flowers, collecting pollen for his colony and his queen. None of those flowers were as special to him as Sam the sunflower. Sam who would wait in the flower field, soaking up the warm rays of the sun, happy to get a daily visit from his friend Cas the honeybee. Sam's pollen really was special, and he gave it freely and generously to the bee. They would talk about the crows, talk about life, about their families. Sam put his leaves in his ears when Cas told him about bees and their mating rituals. They laughed in the sunlight, oblivious to the other flowers and animals who whispered about them and giggled behind their backs at them. They didn't care if it was strange, a flower and a bee. They cared about each other, they liked each other, and that's all that really mattered.

The sunny months came and went, Sam's seeds fell to the ground and soon the cold set in. Sam could feel his stalk turning brown, he could feel the dry crispiness of his leaves. His energy was fading as the sky became grayer. His petals fell off one by one. The visits from Cas continued, even when there was no more pollen for him to gather. Even when they shivered in the cold together, talking just to keep moving, just to generate warmth for themselves under the cloud covered, sunless sky. They kept on as long as they could, until one day, Cas didn't show up. That's when Sam knew he was gone. The life of a bee is a short life, a drone bee even shorter. Cas had lived a longer life than most bees. A better and more free life. He had made a friend, a friend he could talk to, a friend who showed him how to hug. A sunflower's life also has a cycle of beginning and ending and beginning again. Sam felt the cold creeping up into him, too. His stalk was gray, his petals gone.

"Goodbye, my friend," he said into the biting cold wind, as he felt the last bit of energy leave his dry, grey body. One day not too far away, Sam would regenerate again. He would be reborn from the seeds he shed into the ground, growing tall and strong in the light of the sun. The cycle would repeat itself over and over. Many things would happen to Sam. The crows would be there to peck at him, the flies to buzz around, the bugs would climb his stalk to chew his leafy arms. Crowley came and tried to entice him to make deals with him, offering a flower pot and some fantasy life in a garden somewhere. But the one thing Sam wanted, Crowley could never give him. He wanted his funny little friend in the blue tie to visit him again.

Many bees would come and go, politely asking for his pollen, which he would always grant. Sometimes they would chat with him, but he never met a bee he liked as much as he liked Cas. Sam would never forget the fuzzy little friend he made, that one fateful day in the flower field.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry I made a happy/cute story sad, but bees really do have a short lifespan. Also if you're unaware of how bees mate, the drone and queen mate in mid-air and the act of mating is so violent it causes the drone's penis and internal organs to be ripped out of its body and it dies shortly after. So bee!Cas really did luck out here compared to the other males of his species.


End file.
